Supporting Student Success: December 2015

Message from the AEF president

Dear Friend,

Welcome to December. You can read how well our programs are doing, especially how many students are so positively affected.

I recently was honored to serve as the MC of the Encinal High School Hall of Fame dinner. It was truly inspiring to hear the personal stories of the recipients. They all related their success to a coach, teacher or an opportunity to participate in an activity that was new to them. Cross Country and women’s basketball being two examples. I left the event thinking, that is what we do at the AEF. Who knows what may inspire a student? Is it robotics, music, a middle school cross country program? We do not know, however we at the AEF are giving our students the opportunity to soar.

Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,
Bill Sonneman

AEF News

AEF Days at the Little Ice Rink. Dust off your double lutz and join us for AEF Days at the Little Ice Rink at South Shore Center. Show this flyer and receive discounted ticket prices ($2 off adult and $1 off children’s prices). Mondays: Dec. 7, Dec. 14, Jan. 4 and Jan. 11. You must show this flyer on your phone or print it out to receive the discount. AEF will receive a portion of sales from these nights.

Dine with us at High Street Station! Join us on Dec. 10th between 5:30 and 7:00 at High Street Station for dinner. Dinner includes everything from a main course to dessert and is only $14 for adults and $7 for children. Plus, we’ll have some fun raffle prizes just in time for the holidays! Take a break from the kitchen and join us for the fundraising dinner. Thank you High Street Station!

SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza “Dine and Donate” Nights for AEF. Dine at Alameda Landing’s super popular restaurant on the following dates and help support AEF programs. Our friends at SPIN! Pizza will donate a portion of sales on these dates to AEF. Mondays: Jan. 4, Feb. 8, March 7, April 4, May 2 and June 6. 5:30 – 8:00 PM. It’s a great excuse to eat out!

Warriors! Need we say more? Tickets for the January 25th game are sold out, but we will have more for a future game just in time for those holiday stockings. Keep checking the AEF website and Facebook page for more info.

Hug a Rotarian! Thank you to the Alameda Rotary for selling out the Dec. 6th Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs game. The Rotary is donating proceeds from this game to us to support AEF’s Adopt A Classroom program. Thanks to the Rotary Club, we continue to be able to donate 100% of each Adopt A Classroom donation to the teacher. Thank you Alameda Rotary for being the major sponsor of this vital program! We also wish to thank our other Adopt A Classroom sponsors, including Alameda Point Partners, Catellus, Tim Lewis Communities and Wellguard Insurance Solutions. Their support makes Adopt A Classroom possible.

Varsity Sport of the Mind. Imagine a place where tech-oriented students can have the same opportunities as those who are sports-oriented. That’s what AEF is helping to support with Power Up For Learning donations. Funds from Power Up For Learning (PUFL) are supporting the new Alameda Robotics League, which will span grade levels and school sites across the Island. Teams will compete in tournaments that are modeled like sports events, including announcers, scoreboard and fans. This program, based out of Wood Middle School’s makerspace, supports AUSD’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts integration and math) emphasis. According to AUSD Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, team participation will provide vital “hands-on experience with applied academics to make really super cool stuff!” You can support this program by signing up for Power Up For Learning. Thank you to our PUFL partner, Alameda Municipal Power, for supporting technology education.

The perfect gift for teachers. Do you know what teachers want more than anything? To be able to help their students learn. You can support this by “adopting” a teacher through AEF’s Adopt A Classroom program. Thanks to support from our major sponsor, the Alameda Rotary Club, AEF donates 100% of each $500 to a teacher who uses it to enhance learning opportunities for their classroom. Nobody knows what students need more than their teacher! Make the gift that makes an impact this season by adopting a teacher today!

What’s new in AEF Programs

Volleyball Championships. Congratulations to the Encinal Jr. Jets and Lincoln Lions for clinching the AEF Middle School Sports volleyball championships in the DII and DI divisions, respectively. You can view photos from the season here.

Basketball on deck. Our basketball season starts in early January with the girls season followed by the boys. This year, all games will be held at the Alameda Point gym. Check back in early January for the final schedule.

Enrichment. Would your children enjoy building some fairy houses and troll dwellings? How about making mosaics and pottery? Maybe some GoPro movies or STEM Photoshop animation is more to their liking? Or could they be ready for competition with KODU game development? These are just a few of the fun and educational after school enrichment classes AEF will be offering this winter/spring. Look for flyers on our website or at your school site later this month. Registration begins January 7, 2016.